It's not too often that publishers offer a book from the criminal's point of view. The GreatHouse Company, a small publishing house based in West Liberty, Ohio, has performed a major public service with its release of Sean Legacy's often fascinating, sometimes tedious prison journal, Point Zero Bliss.
At age 25, Legacy (a pseudonym) robbed a bank in San Diego. On the run for months, he was captured by the FBI in a Boston motel. After receiving a 46-month sentence, Legacy eventually was incarcerated in one of the country's meanest maximum security prisons.
In writing a journal as he served his sentence, Legacy says that "I found peace through writing and there were a lot of things on my mind that I needed to address. "In mid-1995, two years into his sentence, Legacy contacted GreatHouse owner John Fraim to seek publication. The journal captivated the Ohio publisher, who decided to offer Point Zero Bliss, in keeping with GreatHouse's stated goal of publishing books "exploring provocative and unique aspects of modern culture."
The book gives an insider's view of what it's like to be confined. It's not a pretty tale, and often the awkwardness of Legacy's prose causes the reader's interest to wane. But as Fraim has noted, "Prisons are one of America's greatest challenges." Despite record growth to 1.6 million prisoners, tales from the inside are few.
"The vast majority of prisoners lead daily lives of quiet desperation, their stories known only to friends and family," Fraim said. "Much can be learned from prisons that can help our nation. Not just economically, socially or politically but spiritually as well. The refusal to deal with our prison crisis is one of the major things holding back real growth in the nation."
Point Zero Bliss is marred by a number of misspellings and typographical horrors, such as a consistent use of "its" in place of the grammatically correct "it's." While this may have been an editor's decision to show authenticity, it's merely distracting. Names of prominent individuals, including actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and musician Bob Seger, are misspelled.
The book includes a numbing amount of reports on trivial matters, which may be intended to demonstrate the grinding sameness of everyday prison life. Again, such trivia makes the average reader want to put the book aside. Finally, the book is marred by scores of typographical miscues that impede the flow of the text.
That said, it's important to point out that GreatHouse has performed a significant feat in publishing Point Zero Bliss, and perhaps can clean up the errors in subsequent printings.
The book is available at book stores or from the publisher (937) 465-5400. The retail price for this paperbound edition is $14.95.
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